Taking you back to the sights, sounds, and the people of the 20th Century

April 2: Television

40 years ago today, Dallas first aired on US TV

The American prime time television soap opera, Dallas, aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolved around a wealthy and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who owned the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork.

The show was famous for its cliffhangers, including the “Who shot J.R.?” mystery. The show also featured a “Dream Season”, in which the entirety of the ninth season was revealed to have been a dream of Pam Ewing.

Dallas would come to UK TV screens the following September.

May To December first aired today in 1989

May to December is a British sitcom which ran for 39 episodes, from April 2, 1989 to May 27, 1994 on BBC1. The series was nominated for the BAFTA award for “Best Television Comedy Series” in 1991, but lost out to The New Statesman.

Set in Pinner, London, it revolved around the romance between a widowed solicitor, Alec Callender (played by veteran television actor Anton Rodgers) and a much younger woman, Zoë Angell (played by Eve Matheson in series one and two, and by Lesley Dunlop in series three through six).

The title of the show comes from the Anderson-Weill song “September Song”, which is sung during the credits. The titles of all of the episodes are taken from songs. Most are from musicals, reflecting Alec and Zoë’s mutual interest, but some later ones are hits from the 50s and 60s.